


Lucy Weasley and the Mask of Gold

by Roguepen



Series: The Septenary [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Boarding School, Developing Friendships, Gen, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hogwarts, Honoring the roots of the series, Male-Female Friendship, Next-Gen, Post-Canon, Post-War, Pre-Epilogue, another next gen fic no one asked for, but imma do it anyway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26305792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roguepen/pseuds/Roguepen
Summary: Lucy is determined to be the only good child in the extended Weasley family. Keep her head down, stay out of trouble, get good grades... But when she witnesses two mysterious figures on the grounds, Lucy is pulled into something beyond her control and into the beginnings of plots years in the making.Sometimes the past can haunt the innocent.
Series: The Septenary [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642141
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. Arrival

_September 1st 2016_

Lucy Septima Weasley was hardly the type to get emotional. Sure leaving home was scary but logically it could be done. Her parents had left for school at eleven, her sister, her cousins, her grandparents… It had been done. Now it was her turn.

And Lucy could not have been more nervous. King's Cross was buzzing with activity as she pushed the trolley through the station her father walking next to her occasionally looking down at her with a smile while her mum was talking with her sister behind them. Lucy adjusted the strap of her rucksack where she was holding some books for the trip and her school robes to change into when she arrived. Most of her books were fiction, many of them were adventure novels, and her mother had also recommended a book called Magic's of the Ancient World, which was coming along as well.

They arrived at platforms nine and ten, Lucy looked at it in a mixture of nervousness and excitement. She had been through before saying goodbye to her big sister when she left for school. Molly was wonderful; she sent her letters about her classes and other school goings on. She always made time for her little sister. Lucy appreciated it more than Molly could ever know. She stood in front of the wall while her father put a hand on her shoulder to make her wait for her mum and sister. Lucy wanted to go but she waited.

"Why are you waiting?" Lucy's mother asked as she and Molly stopped behind them. Her father smiled and motioned for Lucy and Molly to go ahead.

Lucy did not need to be told twice, she ran through the barrier feeling the heavy magic that surrounded it enveloping her senses for a brief moment before seeing a scarlet train beyond the crowd of people in front of her. She continued to walk forward a few feet to take in her surroundings and to get an idea of the train's layout. She was a bit scared the last few years of the loud noises and the smoke. Lucy had to at least manage her fear before she set off.

She was distracted as she looked for her sister and parents in the crowd and never saw the goggled boy until he ran into her trolley and fell over her trunk. Lucy looked at the boy as he lay sprawled on his back; the boy looked at her before springing excitedly to his feet and taking off into the crowd.

"Lucy, Lucy come here!"

Lucy turned the trolley with some effort and pushed it towards the voice of her dad who was waving her over. There were still about fifteen minutes before they had to be onboard. Her parents led them over to the train and put helped their daughters put their trunks in the carriage. Lucy unconsciously moved a little closer to her father as she spotted her cousin James in the distance, and that meant Freddie could not be far behind. She looked at the pavement under her feet expecting to find a dung bomb or a Wheeze test product. Eleven years of their antics had made her paranoid.

"Okay then, Molly look out for your sister," Lucy's father began his goodbye speech, "Make sure she doesn't get to lost. Please try to find the time to write this year." He pulled Lucy's sister into a tight hug. When she was released from what Lucy thought of as the death grip, her mum stepped in and hugged Molly as well. Lucy looked over her shoulder nervously to see if she could see her evil cousins. No sign of them, she released the breath she had been holding. Maybe she would go the whole trip without seeing them. Maybe they would all be put into different houses and her time with them would be minimal. "Lucy, I expect you to write as well. Be good, stay out of trouble and tell a professor if Fred and James cross the line." He started to button the top buttons of her coat and pull the ears of her cap over her ears and tie the string under her chin. He pulled her into a hug, Lucy always felt safer with her parents. Her dad especially.

When her father let her go and turned to talk to one of the men he worked with, Lucy's mum pulled her into a hug. "Personally, we don't exactly care where you end up, in case you were worried."

Lucy shook her head recalling the betting pool from the other night.

Her mum looked over at her husband to be sure he was still occupied with his co-worker, as she unbuttoned the top buttons on her coat and untied her cap. "There, now you look like less of a stiff." She smiled mischievously.

Audrey Weasley was a pretty woman, long, wavy brown hair, heart-shaped face, and unusually pale blue eyes. Molly looked just like her; only Molly had their father's eyes and freckles that dotted her nose. Also Molly was already taller than their mum, a fact that Lucy's mum disliked but could not do much about. Her mother would look at her sometimes and say that Lucy was going up that road for height, but for now Lucy was still shorter then her mum and her mum was happy.

There was a whistle from the train and the children began to climb aboard, Lucy was sucked into the crowd and was brought inside by the mob of excited students. She struggled to find her way to the window to wave to her parents; she finally found a window and managed to squeeze her way between a couple of sixth years to wave to her parents. She pushed her glasses up and saw her father with an arm around her mum's waist as they both waved at the train and disappeared into the distance. The crowd began to disperse and go to the compartments. Where was Molly?

"Molly?" Lucy said softly as her voice got stuck in her throat as passersby jostled her. "Where are you Molly?"

Lucy started to walk down the corridor past all of the pushing and shouting children to try and find either her sister or an empty compartment. She adjusted the strap on her rucksack and opened doors into compartment after compartment, each one she tried was full or older students chased her off. After a few more minutes of searching, Lucy found a compartment that was empty and sat down in the window seat, pushed her glasses up her freckled nose, and watched the world pass by.

Well, she tried to watch the world pass by but her view was blocked by her own reflection. She wiped the window with the sleeve of her coat, but it was no help. Lucy gave up on the window and took a novel out of her bag. Reading on a train was something she always enjoyed while traveling. It was comforting. When she was younger she liked to pretend she was going to visit the people from her books and they could all be friends. Lucy only really had one good friend who would not be starting school until next year, but they had grown up together as their parents were friends.

Lucy wanted adventure and excitement, she wanted to do great things and show her family that she was _someone_ important and special that could be her own person and come out of the shadow of the family name. Her dad's family had a lot of influence in their world; Lucy wanted to make a mark that was hers alone.

She placed her shoulder against the wall and rested her head of dust brown hair against the cool window and propped her feet on the seat to rest the book on her knees. Her pale blue eyes scanned the pages as she finally felt herself starting to relax as the story began to unfold, the tale of a mysterious city beneath a wizarding community and all of the treasures and creatures that dwelled within. Lucy shivered delightedly as she felt the cool air of the underground cavern against her skin and saw the ancient stone ceilings above her head covered in old paintings depicting the history of this grand and otherworldly place. The stairs leading to the chapel where the great artifact resided…

The glass door to the compartment opened. Lucy looked up as she was pulled out of a scene involving the adventurous heroine meeting the male lead and possible love interest to find the boy with the quidditch goggles standing at the door. He smiled crookedly, "Are any of these seats taken?"

"No," Lucy went back to her book to finish the chapter. She never liked to set down a book before reaching the end of the chapter at least; it had to be some kind of emergency for her to do that. Meeting some strange boy did not qualify. "Take a seat if you want too."

The boy complied at took the seat across from Lucy and pressed his face against the window. Lucy marked reached the end of the chapter, but left the book open so she could look at the boy without being called strange or weird. Lucy had a very intense stare that she unintentionally did when she was looking at new people, kids had just run off calling her a freak when she did and Lucy did not need that right now. The boy just kept looking out the window. He seemed harmless, but so did James and Freddie.

He turned suddenly with a bright, excited smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name's Ollie, what's yours?"

"Lucy," she replied as she closed her book and prepared herself for the difficult task of being social with a person who was a complete stranger her age who had not been spirited away by James and Freddie. This boy seemed very interested in her answer and seemed to be hoping that she would continue talking. Lucy was not in the mood for idle chitchat.

Ollie had some color to his face; possibly from spending so much time outdoors Lucy ventured a guess. He had bright, vivid green eyes that sparkled with energy and mischief behind his rather shaggy brown hair. He suddenly asked another question, "Do you like Quidditch?"

Lucy blinked before comprehending the question fully, "Yes, I support Ireland."

"My dad plays for Puddlemere and my mum plays for the Tornadoes, I can't believe Puddlemere lost their shot at the cup last year in the semi-finals! That was a dirty play from the Scots, the snitch was not even nearby, and the Quaffle was on the other side of the pitch! Dad wasn't speaking full sentences for a week."

Ah, a Puddlemere fan. That explained the scarlet color on the goggles. "I'm sorry I missed the match on the wireless then, it sounds exciting." Lucy had a vague recollection of her dad uncharacteristically swearing at the wireless when that happened. Lucy was under a blanket on the sofa with a fever and was drifting in and out of consciousness thinking about just how weird her family was.

"I had tickets and saw the whole thing. I'm hoping to get a spot on the House team this year."

"Aren't you a first year? They don't let first years play you know."

Ollie scowled, "They've made exceptions before." His nose wrinkled and the corners of Lucy's mouth twitched. He reminded her of Uncle Cappie. "I will be one of those exceptions." He smiled confidently. "So wha'cha reading?"

"Beneath the City," Lucy held the book out so he could read the back cover. Ollie smiled and took the book from her politely and skimmed his eyes over the back of it before giving it back to her.

"It sounds interesting."

"It is. It's about the discovery of an underground city and a race to find the lost treasures that reside there. In order to find the treasure, they need to pass many obstacles. Many of them are deadly."

Ollie chuckled nervously. Lucy did not notice, she had opened her book again and had begun to read. It was quiet in the compartment until the glass door slide open once again; Lucy felt her eyebrows knit together in annoyance.

There were two boys poking their heads inside the compartment, one was lanky with messy red hair and rectangular glasses. The other boy was dark skinned with a mischievous smile and his hands stuck deeply inside of his pockets, making Lucy nervous.

"Hello, Lucy." James drawled as he strutted into the compartment and took the seat next to his cousin.

Fred followed his lead and nudged Lucy away from the window seat so he could sit on her other side. "How is our dear cousin? Making friends are we?"

"That bloke doesn't look the type to go to Slytherin like Lucy," James said as he looked at Ollie curiously. Lucy noticed Ollie's expression change to one of mild annoyance. "Who are you?"

"Ollie," He smiled politely, "And you are?"

"James, this is my cousin Fred, and I assume you have met my other cousin."

"Which other cousin?" Lucy asked with a roll of her eyes and sarcasm dripping from her lips. "Didn't you claim no relation to me when Ireland won against Chudley last week?"

"We don't recall," James said as he took his arm off her shoulders, Fred following his lead. Good, Lucy did not trust either one as far as she could throw them. Having them nearby was giving her a headache. "Well, Lucy, you seem to be situated. Fred and I are off to sit with some of the other first years." James examined Ollie, "You want to come with us?"

Ollie smiled again, "No thanks, I'm all set here."

"Alright then," James said as he rose to his feet with Fred following his lead. They both hissed at Lucy as they closed the compartment doors behind them.

Lucy looked at Ollie curiously, "Why did you decide to stay? People think they're cool…"

"Yeah, people might think they're cool, but they didn't seem to be very kind to their own family. I didn't like the way they were treating you."

' _I don't understand…'_

It was raining heavily with raindrops that seemed to Lucy to be the size of large pebbles. She adjusted her bag and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and pulled it as far forward as she could to try and keep her glasses dry. Ollie was standing behind her looking out at the astounding weather they would have to cross the lake in as well. Lucy mad a final check to see if her rucksack was closed and stepped out into the rain. The drops pelting against her cloak made a pleasant hollow sound after a few moments. It was cold.

"LUCY!" Molly's voice cut through the crowd making Lucy jump. Her sister came out of the group of fourth year Ravenclaws her hood pulled over her head and skidding to a halt in front of her splashing more water on her already soaked socks. "I'll take your books if you want Lucy, maybe they'll stay dry that way." Lucy had nothing but unconditional trust for her sister and could see the logic in her statement. Lucy gave Molly the books without complaint. "Alright, I'll see you at the feast. I'll save you a seat at the Ravenclaw table!" She took off with the knapsack clutched tightly in her hands.

"Firs’ Years! This way!" A loud shout got Lucy's attention a large figure waved a lantern and summoned a large group of children to him. Ollie pulled on her robe sleeve and dragged her over into the heart of the group. Lucy felt claustrophobic as she looked at her shoes so she would not have to look at the gathering crowd. "Let's see 'ere," the man's voice boomed as loud as thunder and Lucy stepped back onto a blond boy's foot. "'Ello James, Fred."

"Hi, Hagrid!" The terrible twosome replied in unison from somewhere near the front. Lucy realized that she really wanted a book to hold on to for comfort. She wanted to go back to that underground city and find that treasure.

"Alrigh’, everyone, four to a boat now. That's it."

Lucy and Ollie climbed into a boat with two other boys who were peering at the castle ahead of them excitedly. Lucy could hardly see it through her wet glasses. The boats left the docks and set out across the lake, tossed by the waves. Lucy held on to the side of the boat fearing that she would fall off into the water and drown. She chuckled drily it was a strangely amusing idea. Her sense of humor had always been a little dark.

Suddenly, Lucy found the water far closer than it had been moments before; it was now mere inches from her face. She gasped and inhaled a mouthful of lake water and began going down…

Down…

Down…

Into the dark, watery depths of the Black Lake.

It was silent down deep, no noise or distractions. Lucy felt peaceful, more peaceful then she had the whole trip. There was a voice echoing through her mind, it was one she had never heard before, but it sounded like her mum in some ways. It was telling her to go back, back; it was not her time… What did this person know of time? Time did not exist in this watery crypt.

Something wrapped around her waist and underarms, it began to push her to the surface. Lucy felt cold as she broke the surface of the lake and was deposited in the boat where there were voices fussing and screaming over her head. She groaned and turned her face to the side of the boat. She was suddenly scooped up and found herself facing the lake again with someone patting her on the back. She vomited.

"Luce? Hey, you're alright." It was Ollie; he had a very reassuring voice. Lucy moaned in response as she felt a heavy coat draped over her thin, wet frame. Her teeth started to chatter. She did not move until the boats entered a small cave and docked and people started getting off. Lucy felt herself getting lifted out by unusually large hands.

"Alrigh’ there, Lucy?"

"F-Fine…" Lucy murmured in response as she moved to give his coat back.

"Jus' give it back tomorrow." The gamekeeper smiled and Lucy felt the corners of her mouth twitch in response as she pulled the coat tighter around her shoulders as the group was lead into the wet muddy grass. Lucy felt her shoes slipping into the mud as she continued the walk to the wooden door ahead with the other kids. She watched James and Freddie talking and laughing up ahead despite the miserable weather. The door opened and the sight of a rather worried looking man greeted the group. He looked to be around her mum's age.

"Everyone come inside and get warmed up," The man said as he stepped back from the open door as a mob of children tried to cram themselves through it at the same time. Lucy and Ollie were not in any sort of hurry; they were already soaked through and figured that they could not possibly get any wetter. They were the last children inside. Lucy recognized the man now; he was Hannah's husband, Neville.

Hagrid talked for a moment with Neville before waving at the group and stepping out of the room to take his seat at the staff table as an acting professor.

"Welcome everyone, a bit wet out there?" There was laughter and some glares from some of the more surly students, Lucy included. He had no right to talk, he was _dry._ "Yes, well, welcome to Hogwarts everyone. I am Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor House, and your Herbology instructor." He smiled widely, Lucy knew that smile, it meant one who took great pride in the work he did. "Now, in a few minutes you will step through these doors and be sorted into one of the four houses. Each house has its own noble history and has produced remarkable witches and wizards. Any questions?"

"My brother said we need to fight a troll!"

"That is not true," Professor Longbottom began to explain why fighting a troll as a first year was a bad idea.

The door opened and a tiny man told the group that they were ready for them and Professor Longbottom led them out. Lucy looked up at the large expansive ceiling that reflected the rainy weather outside.

Lucy stood in the center of the group, dripping wet wearing a large furry coat over her soaking wet robes. She could not have been anymore embarrassed. The overcoat smelled like wet kneazle. She was watching in wonder, briefly forgetting her humiliation and not noticing the puddle forming under her feet. The brim of the hat had opened and a voice had burst forth in song.

_When I was young and newly sown,_

_The school was just beginning,_

_Four founders there were,_

_Each one different from the others,_

_Bold Gryffindor,_

_Brave and chivalrous,_

_Wise Ravenclaw,_

_Forever seeking and learning,_

_Sly Slytherin_

_Ambitious and cunning,_

_Fair Hufflepuff,_

_Just and fair._

_Now these four choose,_

_Students for their own._

_Gryffindor took only the bravest,_

_Ravenclaw the wisest,_

_Slytherin the most cunning,_

_Hufflepuff took the rest and treated them the same._

_Now things were not as peaceful as one might believe,_

_Strife rose amongst the four,_

_Over the blood-lines of the students,_

_Slytherin wished to take only the purest,_

_Gryffindor welcomed all with magic._

_They fought and fought over the matter,_

_Until Slytherin left in disgust._

_This story is true for I was there,_

_So remember this tale,_

_What can be made when people work together?_

_When petty things get in the way?_

_Things will fall apart._

When the song ended, Lucy found herself clapping with the rest of the Hall while Ollie whooped next to her. The crowd quieted as the first name was called, "Armistead, Adelaide". A pretty girl with flowing brown hair stepped forward to have the hat placed on her head. The hat was silent for a few minutes before proclaiming her a Gryffindor with was met with much applause from the table.

While the others were being sorted, Lucy looked around for her sister and her cousins. It was not too difficult, most of her cousins were sitting at the same table her father's family had sat at for generations; Molly was sitting with her fellow Ravenclaws'. Molly met Lucy's eyes and smiled, moving over to pat the empty seat next to her. Molly seemed to be sure where Lucy was going to go. If only Lucy was that sure.

Soon there were only two children left. Ollie looked at her; he probably thought Lucy would have been sorted by now. Lucy thought Ollie would have been sorted by now as well. They stared at each other for a moment before Lucy's name was called. Ollie smiled and gave her a nudge forward.

Lucy sat on the stool hearing only her heartbeat in her ears and feeling the shaking in her knees then she saw nothing for the hat had just been placed over her eyes pushing her glasses down her nose.

_Well now, another one? There seem to be more and more these days._

' _Mother swears there's more every time she goes to one of Grandmum's family dinners.'_

_Ah, I remember your mother quite well, very difficult to sort, as was your father. Complicated people are always the most interesting to sort, I will occasionally hear about what they did after they left school, it's always interesting._

_'I'm sure it is.'_ Lucy thoughts were silent for a moment, _'What made them so difficult to sort? Was Molly difficult?'_

 _Your parents were like onions, I had to peel back many layers to make the best decision, your sister has some beliefs that make her easier to sort but enough about that. We're going to see where you will go._ The hat was silent for a few moments; Lucy could feel its subtle powers wandering through her mind. _Hmm, you're very intelligent, curious, very Ravenclaw. You are cunning when necessary; you are also rather ambitious though… You have true loyalty to very few people, these people seem to be relatives, but you seem to be the type who would be bored in Hufflepuff._

Gramps called Hufflepuffs' a bunch of old duffers, though Lucy questioned his sobriety at the time considering he said this in front of the Leaky Cauldron's landlady, Hannah Longbottom a very proud former Hufflepuff.

The hat continued its musings, _Ah; your grandfather would say something like that. I remember sorting him as well, interesting person even as a child._

Personally, the thought of Gramps as a child gave Lucy nightmares. It was also just weird, Lucy associated Gramps with books, swears, war stories and booze.

_Oh, what do we have here? Courage, lots of courage very deep under the surface. Where will I put you? Where will you thrive? You could go to Slytherin, it would give you the notoriety you desire. You want to be different, someone admirable and respectable. Well, I assure you that you are very different from your family, no matter where you end up._

_'I don't want to go to Slytherin. I'll be mocked forever!'_

_Then I wish you luck, it takes more courage to stand alone against injustice and evil then to stand with the majority's backing… GRYFFINDOR!_

Lucy stood and gave the hat back to the professor before risking a glance to Molly who looked shocked but was clapping enthusiastically as Lucy made her way over to her house table and sat down to watch Ollie's sorting. He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet excitedly; he was the only one left and waved at Lucy excitedly as his name was called. "Wood, Oliver." The hat sat on his head for a solid minute before sending him to Gryffindor with Lucy. He bounded over excitedly and took the empty seat next to her smiling brightly. Lucy noticed the qudditch goggle strap was still around his head beneath his hat.

"Welcome students, new and old," Lucy looked at the high table to find a tall stern looking woman who was addressing the hall. Lucy had met Headmistress Minerva McGonagall before at one of her grandparent's parties. "As you all know, the forest is out of bounds. As some of our former students can tell you it is such for a few very good reasons."

There were some nervous chuckles and titters from around the Hall.

"First years will take note that Mr. Filch has asked me to once again address joke items from the shop known as Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, if found, will be confiscated. First years are not allowed to try out for their house Quidditch teams." Lucy noted Ollie's look of dogged determination as the Headmistress spoke. "I believe that is it for now so please enjoy the feast."

And all thoughts and worried left Lucy's mind in that moment the food appeared upon the table before her. Her parents were not incredibly talented cooks by any stretch of the imagination. Lucy always ate good food when she could get it, and just for that, Hogwarts seemed like it would be absolutely fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Lucy seems slightly unlikable. I think she'll loosen up a bit, in time. 
> 
> Some of you might be wondering, "Why Lucy as a lead character in an adventure story, why not a more popular character like James, Albus, or Lily?" My answer is this; everyone does a next generation story featuring one of Harry's children as the lead character, with a few exceptions. I wanted a character who was an unlikely hero(ine), one people would not expect. Lucy fit my idea perfectly and I was freed from other people's influence about how this character should be, because we really have no idea what Audrey is like. Well, I did my take on Audrey but that's another fic entirely.
> 
> Following chapters should be shorter than this one.
> 
> And forgive the song- It's bad and there for flavor and setting. I may do one more out of necessity but that will be it.


	2. Letters

_September 2nd 2016_

Lucy was always a rather pensive child, she was always thinking about something and had a very active mind that seemed to many times focus singularly on the negative. The bed was different than the one at home, she had two roommates, and one of these roommates (she was not sure which one) snored. Loudly. She sighed and reached for the small table next to her bed. She felt the wand beneath her palm and clutched it tightly in her hand. If she had found her wand then the start of her letters could not be far away… Ah ha! Lucy brought the pieces of parchment to her and the necessary materials for writing a letter home. "Lumos," Lucy muttered as the tip of her wand lit.

It was still a marvel to Lucy, the way that it worked for her. Gramps said that wands were like an extension and physical form of one's power. As a researcher into the origin of magical power, he could have been right about that and it seemed rather accurate to Lucy. She dipped her quill into her inkwell and continued her letter; maybe she could find the owlery later on.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_Molly's letters did not do the castle justice; "beautiful" and "awe inspiring" are just not the words to use. You probably know what I mean, you were both here too. I have two roommates, one of them snores, and I'm not sure which one. Adelaide Armistead and Amita Adani are their names, they seem pleasant from what I've seen._

_Oh, and Dad? I think Gramps will be by to collect his winnings when you get this. He was right, I got Gryffindor._

_Love,_

_Lucy._

It was a little shorter then she would have liked, but she figured she had better give her dad a heads up about the sorting. He had ten galleons on her being a Ravenclaw like Molly and mum. Her father disliked surprises.

She took a deep breath as she looked over the letter again. She wanted to go home. Lucy sealed the letter in an envelope, addressed it and set it on her bedside table. The second letter was much like the first; only it was to Gramps and was shorter than the one to her parents. There really was not too much going on to tack anything else to either letter unless Lucy wanted to talk about her feelings. Lucy did not want to talk about her feelings.

_Dear Gramps,_

_Congratulations! You just won ten galleons._

_Love,_

_Lucy._

Lucy then placed this letter in the envelope as well, and placed it on her bedside table. Her eyes were heavy and sleep was coming quickly.

* * *

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts everyone, I am sure you are all very excited to be here!" The professor said loudly from the front of the room catching the attention of everyone in the classroom. He smiled; Lucy pegged him as a very happy fellow. "My name is Professor Sullivan, and it's obvious what I teach." He chuckled at his own bad joke and some of the kids smiled. "Yes, well, Defense is one the most involved classes you will have while you are at school. It will also be the one most likely to save your life." The class was silent as Sullivan continued to speak. "Anyone here can ask their parents about war, ask any of the professors here and they will tell you about the war and that you are attending school on an old battlefield. Lives were lost to dark magic, but with the right training, if you are ever involved in a life or death situation you chance of survival increases dramatically."

That speech sounded familiar to Lucy, parts of it anyway, like something Gramps would say. Though he would have added something about power and knowledge being nothing compared to cool heads and quicker wits. While power was helpful, it was not everything.

"Now, this week we are going to read the introduction chapter to the _A Beginners Guide to Practical Defense Spell Work,_ and next week we'll do something practical." Sullivan’s smiled widened as the Gryffindors and the Slytherins reached for their books seeming to already be planning the ways they could kill each other in the following weeks.

Lucy raised her hand; she heard James and Fred whispering in the back of the class. Sadly, all three of them were in the same house. They would have the same lessons. Be in the same classrooms. Every. Day. It was already day one and Lucy was already thinking of ways to throw them off the Astronomy tower without anyone noticing. Well, someone would notice if the first-born sons of two famous wizards went missing. Lucy reasoned that she might want to find a place to hide out where they could not find her.

"Yes, Miss…"

"Lucy sir, what if we've already read though this year's material?"

The class was so silent Lucy could have heard a quill drop. Instead someone burst through the door loudly, causing the class to erupt in giggles.

"Sorry I'm late sir!" A boy said as he closed the door behind him. Ollie rushed over to the empty seat next to Lucy babbling about vindictive staircases, mean portraits, and a poltergeist. Lucy looked at him out of the corner of her pale gray blue eyes, Ollie Wood from what she had seen so far, was determined, happy, and quite possibly a nutcase. Lucy had seen him standing in front of the message board in the common room that morning searching in vain for an announcement about Quidditch tryouts. When he had grown tired of that, he had somehow made it down to breakfast to inhale what Lucy believed to be four eggs, seven pieces of bacon, and two pieces of toast.

"It's okay, just relax." Ollie smiled and took his book out of his bag and shot Lucy a wide grin.

Lucy could not understand why Ollie was being so nice unless James and Fred were looking for an inside man. It was fine if he was, Lucy did not have to trust him with her darkest secrets.

Sullivan turned his attention back to Lucy, "Just read along with everyone else for now, Miss Lucy, and I'll have an answer for your precocious reading next class."

Lucy liked being called Miss; it made her feel grown up. She had never been called Miss Lucy before, she liked that even better. She smiled for the first time all day and opened her book. She decided she liked Professor Sullivan.

* * *

Professor Waldrope's Transfiguration class was something very different. Where Sullivan actually had a promise of his class becoming more interesting, Waldrope had no such promises. The class sat in their seats the entire period and listened to him drone. It was like listening to Lucy's father while he was off about some paperwork about imports, which even Lucy found mildly interesting depending on how bad the rant was. This was something on an entirely new level that left Lucy wishing for one of her dad's unanimated complaints about the current state of cauldron bottoms. Well, maybe Lucy did not want to sink that low. She would have to find another option. Play sick maybe? Would not be too hard, she was sitting next to Fred. Father said motivation was very important if one wanted something, along with hard work, perseverance, and a few other things that Lucy could not remember right now.

She propped her head on her hand and continued taking notes while he rambled on and on about the syllabus for the next seven years of their schooling. He was interrupted by a firecracker that James had thrown under his chair causing the class to scream and the class to be evacuated. They missed the rest of class and were sent away for an early lunch.

Ollie walked with Lucy with a large grin on his face the entire time. Lucy watched him wearily out of the corner of her eye. He held the door to the Great Hall open for her and the smells of the food made her stomach rumble loudly. Homemade food…

She saw Victorie and Teddy talking over soup oblivious to James trying to get in on the conversation and steal Teddy's attention from his girlfriend. Dominique sitting at the other end of the table with some of her friends, Lucy could see Molly with the other Ravenclaws talking and laughing about something.

"Soup?" Ollie asked as he held the bowl out for Lucy. "How about this pasta, eh? You know, I think I'll try everything." Lucy raised an eyebrow as he reached for each platter that was within reach to put its contents onto his plate. When his plate was loaded with food, Lucy was fully confident that she would not lose a hand if she tried to load her plate with the pasta sitting next to her.

Lucy took small bites wanting to make the meal last, she still had to return the coat to Professor Hagrid, it was in her dorm and she had to go up to get it along with the letters she wanted to send to her family. She began eating faster so she could have time to do so.

"What are we doing after lunch again?" Ollie had managed to swallow his food before speaking, much to Lucy’s relief as she was beginning to lose faith in basic table manners.

"Study hall, but I need to run some errands."

Ollie perked up with interest, "What kind of errands? Can I come?"

"I just need to find the owlery and send a couple of letters and return the coat from last night. I just need to find out where the owlery is."

"Oh, I know where it is! I'll go with you."

"Really?" Lucy blinked. "We've been here less than two days and you know where everything is?"

"Not everything, I have a good sense of direction." Ollie smiled.

They soon finished their meal and walked up to the dorm to retrieve the items. The common room was full of people and Lucy managed to slip to the girls dorm unnoticed. Nobody really saw her creeping out with a large fur coat either. Lucy was not noticeable by any stretch of the imagination. It was a ten-minute walk down to the Great Hall where Ollie took over and led Lucy out onto the grounds.

There was a tower standing close to the castle with a path leading to it. Lucy looked up and noticed some owls flying around it. This was probably how Ollie knew where it was. He lead her up the stairs looking back occasionally with an _'I-told-you-so'_ smile. If it were James or Fred, Lucy would have been annoyed. With Ollie it did not have that cruel element, it was _playful._ The hoots and screeches grew louder, Lucy clutched her parcels tighter. Ollie opened the door and stepped inside. Lucy followed him, her jaw dropping at the sheer number of owls housed in this tower, Snowy, Barn, Grey, Screech, and Great horned owls. Lucy walked over to a barn owl and looked at it closely. She always thought they were pretty.

Lucy looked at the barn owl's leg to check for a school tag. No tag. She patted the owl softly before moving on to a great grey to look for the leg tag. She found one and tied the letter to her parents to his leg; she found one of the school's screech owls to take the other letter to Gramps.

The package with the coat in it was tied to the leg of another large Great Grey who looked quite pleased to have the job. He spread his wings wide, flapping excitedly.

And failed to get off the ground.

Ollie and Lucy watched the owl flap for a few moments as it tried to lift off without success.

"I think you might need another bird."

"I think so to."

* * *

Lucy was making her way back from the owlery; Ollie had wandered off after smelling biscuits somewhere nearby. She looked at the staircases; tapping the railing nervously with her wand using a trick Gramps had shown her to reveal active magics before walking up. It seemed safe enough.

There was a kind of tittering laughter coming from behind her. She looked over her shoulder nervously, the owners of the laughter began to talk and Lucy began climbing the stairs faster. She turned and walked into the restroom, hiding in one of the stalls by climbing on top of the loo and pulling her knees to her chest just as the door opened. Lucy counted four different pairs of shoes in front of the restroom mirrors.

"Well, that was dull. What do you think Nerissa?"

"Ugh, I agree. Digging in the dirt for an hour was not my idea of a good time. It's all so boring."

A third voice spoke, "I don't know, Defense with the Gryffindors this morning was interesting. I can't believe that girl already read through that whole book, I didn't even understand the introduction chapter."

_'Yeah, because you don't know how to read words longer than seven letters.'_ Lucy thought as she rolled her eyes. Dumb people had very little to offer her, Lucy liked to be intellectually stimulated.

"What a showoff," The first girl spoke again. "Makes the rest of us look like idiots on the first day, a teachers' pet for sure."

"And those eyes," the fourth girl said with and exaggerated shiver through her entire body. "She didn't look at any of you did she? No, well her eyes are so _creepy._ They're so pale and she looks right at you for about thirty seconds. What a weirdo!"

Lucy bit her lower lip and clutched her knees a little tighter to her chest.

"What's her name again? I wasn't paying attention when Sullivan was calling roll." Nerissa asked idly as Lucy noticed her pulling a hairbrush out of her bag through the crack in the door. "Lucia Wesley or something like that?"

"I don't know, all I know is that according to my dad, her father's some Ministry department head and her mother is some shop clerk who he can't find anything about.” It was the first girl speaking again. "

"How do you know this stuff Imogen?"

"Mother likes to gossip, father likes to talk."

Lucy thought that that was one thing that one should never mention. Gramps always said that chatty people and gossips had brought many people to their deaths over the years. First thing he had really gotten angry with her about was talking about what went on in the shop with outsiders. He didn't yell, he just got stern and Lucy learned quickly that Septenary business was Septenary business only. Of course when she got older the secretive nature made more sense. Gramps was paranoid from his participation in three different wars, worried about Lucy's mum's safety, and his research falling into the hands of his rival, Cavan Toft. Lucy was not sure why he got so bent out of shape over her mum's safety though; mum never did anything risky, or anything that would be considered _cool_ by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps the concern for her mum, Molly, and herself was some kind of protective instinct.

"Well, anyway," Imogen continued, "If we want to get good grades on any tests we might just have to copy off the resident know-it-all." She added a cruel little laugh at the end. "Come on, we have to go back to the dorm." Lucy heard the door close behind the girls loudly.

Lucy stayed in the stall and covered her mouth with her hands to stifle her low cries.

"I-I want to go," sniff, "h-home!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Lucy hit her breaking point a little early. But I don't imagine she's had too much contact with children who she has not grown up with. I think she's trying to learn how to make friends that she does not know through her parents or are relatives. She is rather inept socially and everything goes back to the family with her, and a bit strange but doesn't really notice how strange she is. Ollie is the only person who is a complete stranger who completely latched onto her and may genuinely like Lucy for who she is. Lucy is confused by this behavior.
> 
> And yes, all children at some point think their parents are boring. How right the child is, is up for debate.


	3. Flight

_September 16th 2016_

"Three turns to the right, right?" Ollie asked as Lucy double-checked the directions on the board. "I know you would rather not have this explode."

"You're right on both counts," Lucy replied as Fred and James' potion began to bubble over on the table next to them and burn away at the wooden chair legs. There were screams from around the dungeon as Professor Slughorn rushed over to clean up the mess and calm the screaming students. Ollie watched while Lucy continued to cut the ingredients like nothing was amiss. It was like this at the family get-togethers all the time; if Lucy never learned to ignore it then she would never finish anything she wanted to.

Ollie put his elbow on the table and watched Lucy cut the ingredients to the form required, Lucy didn't notice, she was too focused on dicing her frogs liver and the stalk of a hellburn plant. "You're quite good with that knife. It's a little scary really."

"My Aunt Serena has a knife collection. She let me look at them sometimes, Molly doesn't like them though. I don't know why, Molly's weird like that."

Ollie blinked, "Your aunt collects knives? She's a witch right?"

"Yes, but she likes to be surprising, she always has a few with her so she doesn't have to transfigure some if she needs them. She was mugged once, her wand was knocked out of her hand and the man was about to take her bag. Aunt Serena pulled one of her knives and had at him. Now criminals cross the street when they see her coming."

"So your aunt's basically a knife nut?"

"Well, yes."

They sat quietly for a moment continuing with their tasks. Well, Lucy was at any rate. Ollie had finished stirring for now and was watching the acid like substance coming their way. He leapt out of his chair and grabbed the back of Lucy's, pulling her back while she continued to cut the materials. Once she was well away from the mess, Ollie rushed back to pull the table away from the acidic product that threatened to eat away at the wooden leg of the table and ruin the potion they had worked so hard on.

"How many relatives do you have?"

Lucy's lips tightened into a thin line while her cutting grew a little more aggressive. "Too many. My father is the third of seven children, my mother is an only child, but I have some honorary relations from her, those would be Uncle John and his wife, my Aunt Ellie and their children, Uncle Cappie, Aunt Serena and their children, and my godmother Lucia. I won't go into my dad's family tree, it's too big."

Ollie laughed nervously as he moved the cauldron to another table entirely and hurriedly moved the other ingredients to the other table, as the failed potion seemed to take a life of its own and target the table that Lucy and Ollie had been assigned. He once again grabbed Lucy's chair to pull her away from the mess. Lucy was too wrapped up in double-checking the next steps of the potion to notice.

Lucy placed the cut ingredients next to the cauldron and turned back to the board, talking louder to be heard over the subsiding screams of the student body and the thud of their assigned table falling to the floor as the failed potion ate away at two of its legs. "Ollie, put the pieces of hellburn plant in the cauldron one at a time and stir counterclockwise seven times, then add the liver and stir three times in a clockwise direction."

Ollie observed the chaos and destruction around them and did what Lucy said. She seemed to be making more sense than the rest of the class at that time. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Flying filled Lucy with a dread much like her claustrophobia. The same feeling of sheer empty horror in her belly and her inability to breath, in a family large enough to have at least two quidditch teams it was something she tried her best to avoid. Besides, she had a feeling he cousins would be far too willing to knock her off her broom. Molly had tried to teach her the finer hand eye coordination to play quidditch a few times already, but it always ended with Lucy stuck in a tree out in her grandparents' orchard. Her dad had managed to teach her how to hang on to one without falling off, but Lucy never really took to flying. She swore to herself that she would never mention it to anyone at school.

At least Ollie was excited about a lesson for once, even if it was a single year of lessons for first years. The only academic subject he seemed to excel in was Charms, he had a real passion for making teacups spin in midair, drop them, and stop them before they hit the floor. Lucy was not quite so gifted, Ollie was quite glad to help her at any rate. Lucy could not be too bitter about that; she was doing excellently at everything else.

They stood outside the castle with a cool wind and cloudy sky to meet them. Lucy tucked her cloak tighter around her shoulders wondering why they had survived in fashion for all of these years. They were a bit impractical, though they did look intimidating, something Lucy desperately wanted to be.

Ollie was bouncing up and down from one foot to the other, when they had gotten the announcement for flying lessons he had skipped and danced around the common room. Lucy could understand why, he had been unable to get his hands on a broom since school had started. Lucy had gotten pretty excited herself when she got to the library for the first time and found their fiction section, and the section on defensive spells. She was working on a way to get into the restricted section; she wanted to stay ahead of Fred and James in the self-defense department.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson," The instructor said as she appeared from above on her broomstick. The class looked up, enraptured, as she floated gracefully to the ground in front of them. "I am your instructor Madam Hooch." She got off of her broom and surveyed the class as if she was sizing up any potential troublemakers or experienced flyers. "Now everyone stand next too a broom, then place your hand over the broom and say 'Up'"

The class did as instructed.

"Up!" Lucy said, her hand shaking. The broom twitched and lay still.

Ollie's broom was already in his hand and resting on his shoulder and was watching Lucy's efforts with interest. "C'mon Luce, where's that demanding personality we all know and love?"

Fred and James, both of their brooms were already in their hands looked over with the other two Gryffindor boys and snickered. Amita and Adelaide's brooms were already in their hands and they were watching Lucy with interest. Lucy finally just picked it up, her face red with embarrassment.

"Alright then, now mount your brooms and hover above the ground for a few moments before coming back down. When I blow my whistle, you will begin."

Lucy threw her leg over the broom and said a quick prayer. As she was about to push off, there was a loud exploding sound from behind her. Lucy shouted and pushed off from the ground too hard. A quick glance around told her that other kids had done the same and the professor was now in the air trying to keep them from flying off. Lucy pulled back on the broom handle trying to stop. The broom only picked up speed and the sounds of the class began to fade behind her.

As the broom began to take her higher and faster and took her towards the forest, Lucy had the strange piercing thought that the school seemed to be focusing a bit of power into killing her in some strange manner. She had nearly drowned, and was now flying an out of control broomstick. What next? Teacups?

The broom dropped suddenly and Lucy screamed as eleven years of life flashed before her eyes. The time she had ran headlong into an open drawer in her grandparents kitchen, Gramps hiding her from Fred and James in his office, reading in front of the fireplace at home… The broom steadied itself suddenly and Lucy felt tears leaking from her eyes behind her foggy glasses. She was going to crash. No one would find her because the snow would come and bury her body, freezing it and protecting it from decomposition until the Spring when the snow would melt and the smell would attract wild animals to feast upon her remains. Her funeral would be an affair where each member of the family would be crying, including James and Fred who would be bemoaning the way they had treated Lucy in life. Her dad regretting his decision to send her away to school, he had wanted to have her homeschooled. The coffin opening to reveal only her skeletal remains.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she had never even heard the other broom approach.

"LUCY!"

She heard someone yelling her name. With great effort, she turned her head to see Ollie speeding towards her hunched over the broom handle his Puddlemere goggles over his eyes. He drew up next to her and reached his hand out for hers.

"Lu, give me your hand!"

Lucy reluctantly relinquished her grip on the broom and reached for Ollie's offered hand. The broom dropped suddenly causing Lucy to scream again. Ollie dropped down next to her, his hand still reaching for her. Lucy tried again. Ollie squeezed her hand reassuringly as they connected and began a slow decent into the forest below.

The branches seemed to reach out and try to grab Lucy as Ollie took her into a slow decent down. She hissed in pain as a sharp branch scratched her leg and one pulled out a chunk of mouse brown hair. She finally felt her feet touch to forest floor below and gave a sigh as she fell to her knees in relief. Then she started to cry.

"You're okay…" Ollie said as he awkwardly moved next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You're okay…"

Lucy wiped her nose on the sleeve of her robes as her sobs ceased. "Thank you, Ollie." She gave him a rare smile as he took his goggles off his eyes.

"No big deal, I've wanted to fly that fast for a while now. You just gave me the excuse." He looked around at the large trees overhead. "How are we going to get out of here? I don't want to fly up into the branches. It would hurt."

Lucy looked around at ground level as she ripped the hem of her robes to wrap around her cut leg. As she tied the knot, she noticed footprints in the dirt before her. "Um, Ollie, come look at this."

Ollie turned his attention to Lucy who pointed at the footprints. He knelt down for a better look. "I think they're human."

"Then we can follow them back to where they came from!" Lucy exclaimed as she rose to her feet and picked up her broom. When Lucy knew where she was going, few things could stop her. "Let's go! I hear you don't want to be out here after dark." She remembered Teddy talking about a late night excursion once, scary stuff.

Ollie took the lead as Lucy limped behind him with her wand drawn. She had been studying on her own and had found a couple of spells she could do in a pinch, a bright, blinding light that Gramps taught her, a small fire spell, and a small hex that caused painful growths to appear all over the victim's body. She had not tested the third one yet, but she had wanted to use it.

They walked and walked talking quietly on occasion but mostly listening for the sounds of something to come out and eat them or something of that nature. Lucy thought they must have been deeper in the woods then she originally thought. They stopped a couple of times to make sure they were on the right track and had not wandered off the path. They stopped to drink from a small stream they had found and to rest for a few minutes before starting on their way again. They did not touch the berries they would find having no idea what they were.

Lucy looked behind her as a feeling of being watched reached through her senses. She thought she saw something shining watching them through the trees, Lucy looked again and it was gone. There was no one there but Lucy could not shake the feeling.

There were shouts in the distance and Lucy and Ollie picked up the pace. They broke into a feverish run when the ground seemed to shake beneath their feet. Ollie tripped over the rock in front of him and in turn Lucy fell over him. They looked up and saw a bright light through the trees and heard voices from up ahead. They sprung quickly to their feet and ran forward, though the trees and into safety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing a lot and my personal life caught up to me a bit. I should be back to regular updates now.
> 
> Potions always seemed a dangerous class to teach to a bunch of children. Like magical chemistry where sometimes things get set on fire.


	4. Tryouts

_September 20th 2016_

_Around Two A.M_

The man walked quietly through the forest; so silent he could have been mistaken for a ghost, or death himself if one felt poetic. A large black hood covered his face and a large black cloak made of thick heavy material hid his figure, practical for trekking through the Forbidden Forest at this hour. One gloved hand clutched his wand while the other ran lightly over the trunks of the trees.

Gaps in the treetops above him let a stream of moonlight through and catch his face. He took his hand off the tree trunk and adjusted his hood to hide from the light. People like him dwelled in the dark and did their best to remain there. There was a noise from behind him and he turned quickly with his wand drawn and at the ready.

"Easy there, it's just me." This voice was also male and cloaked heavily for this venture.

"I'll need confirmation you are who you say you are." His voice echoed eerily as he turned to face his ally. His ally stepped back when he discovered whom he was meeting with tonight. The man understood, last week it had been an attractive woman with long dark hair and a smooth, evasive way of speaking that had been here. His lady was in a league of her own. Instead there was him in all of his messes and destructiveness. That was fine. "What is our purpose?"

"To find and harness the oldest power."

The man turned, his hood falling back to reveal a face covered with a golden mask. The only bit of his face that could be seen was his mouth; his lips seemed to be sealed together on the left side. The mask was intricately designed. Gold in color or material with delicate engravings by the corners of the eyes, this man had taken lives and wanted it to be known that he was a dangerous individual, that those whose deaths he sought rarely if ever escaped him. Few could argue with that. Those who had escaped him with their lives could confirm it. Very few had escaped this man more than once. To be precise, that number was two. An old man with an alcohol problem and a bad limp, and his apprentice with ice blue eyes, and their escapes seemed a mere fluke. That was nearly twenty years ago. The old man was probably older and the apprentice had probably grown more dangerous with time and experience.

His gloved hand flexed at the phantom memory.

"Good, any progress?"

"N-no sir." The mask alone was enough to make him look at the forest floor, anything to avoid looking at him directly. "The item you seek according to the lore should be in this forest. Where it is located is remains uncertain."

The masked man stepped forward, "Troubling. I want leads at least. I want you to continue your work and the next time we meet I want something more conclusive about possible locations. Now, I have somewhere to be. You have two months before I visit again." And the faceless man left as silently as he had come.

The other man was left alone with his thoughts, "I wonder what you did," he mumbled when he heard a resounding crack of apparition in the distance. "To hide your face behind a mask." He trembled and began the long walk back to his room and his papers. He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

_September 21st, 2016_

Ah, the library, a place of peace and higher learning. Lucy was hunched over in a large stuffed chair that was facing out the window and towards the Black Lake. The book she was looking through was a very large volume of history of the numerous Goblin rebellions. She wanted a head start on the History lesson tomorrow. Considering the professor was dead and hardly able to give out a detention and just ignored the chatter that occurred during the class, Lucy felt this was a good reason to move on ahead.

She glanced up from the book and looked around again, Lucy was surrounded by bookcases and not another soul in sight. Good. She was just beginning to enjoy herself. The corners of her mouth tuned up into a contented smile as she settled back into the chair and propped her feet up on the windowsill.

"Lucy!"

And the peace was shattered. Ollie Wood was peering around the back of the chair and looking at Lucy with an excited look that one could interpret as the beginning of a very long day. His goggles around his neck with his school hat gone and he appeared to be wearing more casual attire, something easier to move around in.

"What is it? And keep your voice down, do you want the librarian to throw us out again!" Lucy whispered hurriedly as she marked the page in her book with a small piece of parchment and turned around in her chair to face him better. She was now half propped on her knees and looking him in the eyes, when she did that to her cousins they would either stay put or back off. Ollie just smiled. Somehow, this made Lucy feel relieved. Even after knowing each other for a few weeks, she felt more comfortable with Ollie then she ever had with any of her cousins. He was strange, but trustworthy. To Lucy, that said a lot.

"They're having tryouts today!"

Blast.

"I was wondering if you would like to come and watch? I'm hoping to get chaser!"

Lucy blinked, feeling a wave of confusion through her thoughts. Why would he want her there? Oh, support. People usually wanted support when they were doing new things.

"Sure!" She got up from her chair with the book under her arm. Maybe it would do her some good to go out. The weather was pleasant and she could see Louis sketching by the lake. Louis was one of her nicer cousins; Lucy could go and bother him if she felt so inclined, but he seemed content where he was.

They walked out of the library, Ollie leading the way talking merrily about strategies from old world cup matches that he had attended with his parents over the years that he was hoping to implement into the house team someday when he became the captain in a few years. Of course, if they chose to give him such a coveted position. He was beginning to tell her about the time he had wondered into a site of U.S. Quidditch supporters at a World Cup match a couple of years ago when they had stepped through to the stadium where Captain Slattery was writing on a clipboard as he surveyed the potential members of the team this year.

Slattery was large a burly sixth year, a fitting physique for a beater, and he liked to yell. A lot. From what Lucy had seen in the common room he also had an IQ a couple of points above the average troll. He must have been hit by too many bludgers. A closer look at the prospects led to a girl with long red blonde hair she had braided down her back standing next to Slattery. Dominique was standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest surveying the arrivals with an unusual amount of seriousness. Lucy felt the urge to go back to the library and hide. Dominique was all business when it came to the sport and was said to be the driving force being Gryffindor's win of the Quidditch cup last year at the age of thirteen. She was rumored to be Slattery's replacement when he graduated.

There was Ollie down on the pitch his back straight and he was wearing a solemn expression. He looked very small standing next to the other potential chasers, most of them had some weight to them and had been building up for this since the summer. Ollie looked smaller for it.

She leaned a little farther over the railing for a better look at the competition, and who she saw really made her want to return to the library. James and Fred were in the mix as well pushing each other jokingly and laughing. They were both good, and Lucy hoped they would get on the team so that she could spend a few hours in a non-paranoid state.

"Alright, let's get this over with, First years clear out!" This statement from Slattery was met with shouts from the three first years.

"C'mon!"

"You _gotta_ let us try, Slattery!"

"Pretty please?"

"Off the pitch you three, the rest of you can split up into the positions you want to try out for, Beaters over there, Chasers with Weasley, Seekers here, and Keepers over there." The group of people split off to their assigned places as the three first years came up to the stands to watch. Ollie sat next to Lucy and watched with interest while James and Fred sat behind them and pondered ways to get Slattery in his sleep. Lucy thought she should warn him if they came up with anything particularly nasty.

"Never even gave us a shot," James complained as Dominique led the chasers around the pitch and put them through their paces. "Most of the team graduated last year, Dominique and Slattery are the only ones who didn't."

_'First years aren't allowed to play, you know that.'_ Lucy just rolled her eyes wanting to leave but not willing to ditch Ollie who was now watching the beaters try and knock each other off their brooms. She cringed as one fell and barely managed to keep a grip on his broomstick. The bludger flew past him and straight for the stands.

"Watch out!" Ollie shouted as Lucy dragged him under the bleachers. There was a loud boom over their heads as the bludger took out the seats nearby. And Lucy thought for sure the teacups would get her. Ollie peered out and watched it soar back to the beaters while Lucy moved closer to him. She could hear James and Fred cursing loudly behind them. They crawled out and observed the scene with Dominique flying towards them as fast as she was able.

"You lot alright?" She landed gracefully next to the first years', her braid over her shoulder. Ollie looked up at her with his mouth hanging open stupidly, Lucy could not blame him. Dominique was tall, slim, athletic, Veela, and gorgeous. Her hair was a red blonde color and her eyes were like the deep blue of the ocean. When Lucy was with Dominique and Victoire she always felt a bit more self-conscious than usual. To be honest, she had always felt like the ugly duckling when standing next to any of her other female cousins. They were everything Lucy was not, in both looks and personality.

"Y-yes, we're fine…" Ollie was still staring and so were all of the boys in the air. Slattery did not even notice when one of the aspiring beaters almost hit him in the head with his bat, or the glares that were beginning to appear on the faces of the girls nearby. "How are you?" His cheeks went a dull pink color as Dominique smiled with those dazzling white teeth. Lucy felt the strange urge to knock them out of her mouth. The urge faded as the charm started wearing down. With Dominique, Lucy had noticed it came in spurts of power and seemed to trail off after a while. Victoire managed to hold her charm over a longer period with little effort. Ollie blinked rapidly as he came back to himself, his face still a noticeable pink.

"Good," she cupped a hand around her mouth while holding on to her broomstick with the other. _"They're alright Slattery!"_ Dominique shouted as Lucy covered her ears. Dominique was known to talk loudly and had no problem yelling to draw people's attention.

"Hey Dom, since we nearly got killed and all, will Slattery let us tryout?" James asked looking the picture of innocence with Fred following his lead. Both boys had their hands behind their backs and were looking up at their cousin with angelic expressions. Lucy was glad that Dominique could see through such an act.

She turned her nose up and gave them a look very similar to Aunt Fleur; "You can wait until your second year just like how me and everyone else on this pitch did." She kicked off into the air and led the chasers around the pitch. Fred and James watched her go with their mouths hanging open stupidly. The corner of Lucy's mouth twitched as she turned away from them, feeling a rather unusual rush of affection for Dominique. Quidditch was the only thing that her cousin was serious about.

Lucy stood, feeling like she should take off while Fred and James were moping before they got any bright ideas. "Hey, Ollie, meet up with me later at the library would you? I've got a paper to touch up." It was a lie; she figured that James and Fred would stay well out of her way if she mentioned a paper for class.

"Sure," he gave her a smile and turned his attention to the players above the pitch.

* * *

"Lucy!" Molly called from where she was sitting with a punk-looking girl with black and crimson hair, both with thick books in their laps as they sat on the stairs that led into the castle. Both of their robes were lined in a Ravenclaw blue. Lucy rushed over, it had been a few days since she and Molly had sat down to talk. She took the empty space next to her sister and looked at her expectantly. Molly got the message quickly and smiled warmly at her sister. "Lucy, this is my friend Delilah Dalton. Delilah, this is my sister Lucy."

Lucy reached over Molly to shake Delilah's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Delilah."

"Pleasure's mine, Molly said a lot of good things about you. Shame we didn't get you at the sorting." Delilah had an easy smile and a round moonlike face with deep black eyes and pretty bronze skin. Lucy thought she might not have the easy, graceful looks that Victoire and Dominique had but she was just as pretty as they were.

Lucy tilted her head, admiring the large hoop earrings and multiple studs in her ears. If Molly or Lucy had come home like that their dad would have a fit of unimaginable description. Though he probably would have found her hair rather offensive, Lucy was unsure which he would have found more so.

"Do you like school so far Lucy?" Delilah asked as she closed the medical textbook she had been reading and focused all of her attention on Lucy's response.

Lucy felt flattered that this cool older girl –one of Molly's friends- found her worthy of such attention. Her cousins tended to ignore her when they were talking with their friends. Molly was like her mum in the respect that she enjoyed the company of kind people who were best described as… _interesting._ People would talk to her sister, and ask her how she was doing when they saw each other. "It's wonderful, I'm learning a lot!"

"I'm glad to hear that Miss Lucy." Lucy shot up as Professor Sullivan's voice sounded from behind her. Molly and Delilah giggled as Lucy tried to regain some composure. "It's nice to hear something like that once in a while; teachers never seem to get any sort of thanks for their efforts." Molly giggled harder as Lucy looked for a way to leap over the stair railings unnoticed. This was a bit embarrassing. "Could I have a moment?" He motioned for Lucy to come with him. Lucy stopped thinking of escape routes and followed waving to Molly and Delilah.

She liked Sullivan, she just hated being surprised. She associated that with an (unfunny) joke from Fred and James. They walked for a few moments before Lucy spoke, "I didn't do anything, whatever it was it was Fred and James, I swear!"

Sullivan tossed his head back and laughed, "No, no. It's not anything like that. I was wondering if you would care to join me for tea sometime? I want to talk with you about your work in my class; it's nothing to worry yourself with Lucy. You're doing excellently; you're just very far ahead of the rest of the first years. So what do you say?"

Lucy blinked, "Sure, it sounds great!" Her cheeks colored at the praise.

"Excellent, is Friday after class alright with you?"

"Yes, it is."

* * *

Ollie was true to his word and met Lucy at the library in the same corner where Lucy did all of her papers sitting in the overstuffed armchair. They sat and laughed about the bludger incident, and Lucy made a couple of awkward jokes about how this school was trying to kill them off in a creative manner that left Ollie trying to stuff his fist in his mouth to suppress his laughter.

Once things had calmed down, Lucy asked a question. "Ollie, are you sad you never got to try out for the team?"

It was quiet for a moment as they looked out the window at the sun setting over the lake. Lucy watched him for a moment out of the corner of her eye. He looked at her with a bright smile. "Yes, a bit. It's alright though."

They were silent for a moment.

"Yeah, maybe we can try the Gobstones club! Or the chess team! How about the Debate club! Dad says good things about the debate club… What do you think, Ollie?" Lucy exclaimed as she realized that was something she could look into doing and it would be more fun with a friend there.

"Sounds like something to think about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers of my previous work will remember the masked man and his part in the plot. He's back. Be happy, be scared, and hide your children.


	5. Tea and Cousins

_September 23rd 2016_

It was Friday at last and Lucy was nervous and excited about her visit with Sullivan after class. She just had to make it through double Defense with the Slytherins and then it was a quiet weekend when she would not have to listen to everyone praise and worship the ground her cousins walked on just for being the offspring of famous people. She did not care how supposedly talented they were, how handsome, or funny, they were annoyances to her, nothing could change that. They were not invited for tea with a Professor, (well, Hagrid was a close family friend, even if he was a teacher he didn't count). Professor Sullivan was a favorite at the school, he made lame jokes but his classes were very educational and very hands on. The other day he had let Lucy stun James in practice exercise. Best five minutes of her life.

For now, it was nine in the morning and she was stuck in the class of one Professor Waldrope. He was a middle-aged man with gray hair and seemed more interested in paperwork then teaching a class. All he did was give them chapters to read and would occasionally let them do actual Transfigurations causing no end of aggravation for his students who knew what they wanted to do once they left school. Molly, for example, said she wanted to be a healer; so she started working on her own to make sure she could pass her practical examinations come OWL year.

Today the class was taking notes on a lecture that Waldrope was giving about basic Transfiguration involving turning items of a similar structure into one another. Lucy leaned forward at her desk as she took in more of what he was saying. She was pulled out of her center of focus when Fred snored loudly beside her; Lucy gave him a disgusted look and turned her attention to Waldrope again. Hoping that he would realize that she was absolutely not related to those two Neanderthals. Ollie shifted slightly next to her and propped his chin on his hands. He looked ready to doze off. Lucy jammed her elbow into his ribs. She did not want Waldrope thinking she was friends' with a sleeper.

The bell rang eventually and Ollie got to his feet as Lucy closed her knapsack full of books. He stretched and tucked his book under his arm and then proceeded to yawn as Waldrope hurried back to his office.

"Well, that was dull." His shoulder cracked loudly. "Ouch…"

Ollie followed Lucy out of the room, jabbering about nothing at all as she watched James, Fred, and the two other Gryffindor boys wearily as they broke into a run down the corridor to find out the source of a commotion going on up ahead. Ollie perked up and walked a little faster trying not to leave Lucy behind. Lucy compensated by breaking into a slow jog to keep up with the crowd to find out what was going on.

They managed to break through a ring of student who were surrounding a couple of third years, one clad in Gryffindor colors, the other in green. The crowd was cheering their respective House on and jeering at the opponent. Both boys had their wands drawn and were in what Gramps liked to call the _"Sizing up"_ part of street dueling. They were both tense looking and flicking their wands at each other to see how intimated their opponent was. Lucy was looking intensely at their feet; Gramps said one could tell the skill of the duelist by looking at their feet.

There was a great roar from the crowd as the Gryffindor lunged forward with a spell beginning to form at the tip. His opponent stepped out of the way and the spell whirred past his ear and those gathered behind him hit the floor to avoid it. He spun his wand nimbly between his fingers and fired his own spell. Lucy looked on, hypnotized. Duels were a rarity to witness. Mum and dad went out of their way to keep her and Molly away from any of the street fights that went on in the Alley. If the girls were with Gramps he would get them over to watch and swear them to secrecy afterwards and asked them what mistakes they saw. Besides getting caught by the authorities of course. Molly would just watch in horror while Lucy and Gramps would cheer on their favorites. Molly would go off by herself when they would all get back to the shop while Lucy listened to Gramps get into an animated discussion about technique going downhill since his days in the Auror department when he got involved in street riots and duels with Dark wizards.

"Your Reformation friends are scum, I hope you know that." The Slytherin said coolly causing his opponents face to burn red from embarrassment.

"Inbred!" There were chuckles from the crowd, either at the likely truth behind the statement, or the lack of eloquence behind it.

The Gryffindor rushed forward shouting something about pureblood scum with the hand not clutching a wand pulled back into a tight fist and shoving his fist into his opponent's nose. Lucy watched the blood run down his face with shock. How _barbaric_. The Gryffindor continued with a spell that blew him back into the floor before jumping on top of his opponent and beating him while he was down. Lucy heard James and Fred cheering loudly nearby while Ollie moved closer to Lucy.

"What is going on here?" Sullivan shouted as he pushed through the crowd and pulled the students apart with a wave of his wand. "Twenty points from Slytherin and Gryffindor!"

"But he started it!" The fighters said in unison.

"I don't care who started it I want it finished. Detention and a meeting with the Headmistress for the both of you."

Lucy had never seen Sullivan angry before; he was normally very lively and relaxed. She felt a little afraid; he looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. He grabbed them both by the backs of their robes and pulled them through the crowd.

The crowd dispersed as quickly as it had gathered and Lucy and Ollie resumed their normal activities.

* * *

The cousins were gathered at the edge of the lake, Victoire had gathered them all for a picnic. Lucy saw no point in this. She thought that Victoire was using this as an excuse to get close to Teddy without too many questions being asked by him or anyone else. Molly said that she had been in love with him for some time. Actual feelings, not just trying to suck each others faces off. Personally, Lucy could not see the appeal of such acts. Frankly, she thought love was a pretty gross concept while other girls her age would sit and talk about boys, (like her cousins), for hours and arguing about who was cuter (ew).

Teddy was a Hufflepuff who usually wore his hair in a proud display of house pride by coloring it black and yellow like some kind of canary was on top of his head at all times. He was dead klutzy also, always tripping down stairs and falling into the dessert table. This boy wanted to be an Auror. Lucy's mum was praying for him. Gramps laughed and laughed when he heard and then proposed a drink to Teddy's very short life. Teddy's grandmother had proceeded to attempt to hex Gramps under the table.

There was a blanket spread out in the grass, it seemed as if Victoire wanted to catch the last day before he cold weather really began to set in. Lucy played absentmindedly with the clasp of her cloak, a funny looking thing Gramps had given her. It seemed to be made of standard materials, nothing fancy or expensive much to Lucy's relief and done to match the symbol that Gramps had carved into the doorframe of his shop in the years before she was born. It was a very small and intricate looking tree. Whenever Lucy touched it, she could feel a slight stinging sensation and a hint of magical power. Molly had one also, but didn't seem to feel the power inside of it like Lucy could. It did not feel very powerful; it must have been left over from hanging around Gramps' and mum's spell work at the shop for so long so she did not think too much about it.

She was jolted from her thoughts when she heard Victoire speak in the authoritative, bossy way that annoyed Lucy a good bit of the time. Though, this side of her only appeared while trying to get the attention of her younger cousins. Like James and Fred.

"Would you two sit down!" Victoire said loudly as she began to layout the food she had probably gotten from the kitchen. Mostly sandwiches.

Louis and Teddy exchanged a look of weariness before going back to their activities. Teddy was helping Victoire lay out food, his book opened on the corner of the blanket; Louis went back to his sketching, ignoring his sister as she turned her attention to him. Lucy looked at the picture over Louis' shoulder to find a breathtaking picture of the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forrest beyond. Louis was talented; his portraits were just incredible.

"Ugh, she's so bossy." Dominique said softly as she came up behind Lucy. "Just because she's the eldest she thinks she can order us around." Lucy took a look at Dominique, she always thought Dominique and Victoire had a competitive relationship that Victoire seemed unaware they possessed. Dominique always seemed to want to prove to everyone else she was as good, if not better, than Victoire. Lucy could not imagine a relationship like that with Molly.

"Dominique, could you spread this blanket out over there for me please." Victoire asked as she held up a checker-patterned blanket for her sister. Dominique rolled her eyes and did as she was asked. Lucy watched her quizzically. Dominique had a serious attitude problem, but Lucy could understand why she did somewhat. Victoire was quite enough as a cousin, having her as a sister would be destructive. Victoire had this rich, blonde hair that seemed to glow at all times. Boys fell at her feet and had walked into more open doors by staring at Victoire as she walked by.

James was leaning over something with Fred looking over his shoulder under a tree out of earshot. Lucy watched them closely; it was probably a firework or something similar that Lucy needed to look out for. She had a feeling in her gut that it was something that was going to cause her a lot of grief. The other day she had narrowly avoided a toenail-growing hex in the corridor. James and Fred were snickering a little too hard with their little herd of sheep. They stopped when Teddy doubled over in obvious pain and was ripping his shoes and socks off and attempted to perform the counter hex. That bloke was accident-prone.

Lucy sat down next to the last arrival, her older sister and looked out onto the lake where she could have sworn to have seen tentacles waving at her from the other end of the lake.

At least the squid never had ulterior motives.

* * *

"Hey, are you and Oliver dating?"

"No."

"Really? You two sure seem to spend a lot of time together." Imogen Varnham was singlehandedly the stupidest girl Lucy had ever met. She was a Slytherin who hung around with the other girls in her house. She was cruel, possessed an innate talent for gossip, and flaunted her family's money whenever the opportunity presented itself. Lucy's parents were good with money; they saved the money they didn't spend. The only thing her family splurged on was books and they tended to be heavily discounted. Lucy had the sincerest doubts that Imogen had ever read a book. Or possessed the ability to read.

Imogen tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, another thing about her that irked Lucy was as much as it pained Lucy to admit it, she was attractive. Thin figure, blonde hair, pouty lips, and bottom line, she would be very appealing to the opposite sex when they developed an interest in girls in a few years.

"I think they'd be cute together to Imogen," Nerissa Selwyn was probably the only one in that group who Lucy could actually respect for her intellect. She seemed to be the only one in that particular clique who openly showed signs of a deeper personality and an IQ higher than the average troll.

"I agree, they're both incredibly obsessive, smart, and below average looking." A brunette witch with chin length hair said from where she was sitting nearby. Lucy knew her as one of the Paternoster twins; her fraternal twin sister was in Hufflepuff.

"Oh be nice Daffy, she can't help it." Imogen replied calmly flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Why won't you go out with him? You're absolutely made for each other."

They were trying to rile her up. Lucy was now thoroughly sure of her assessment that Imogen Varnham was a nosy, lazy, witless-

"Are you even going answer?" Lucy glared at her and she recoiled.

Bitch.

* * *

"That will be all for today everyone," Sullivan said as class was dismissed. "I want that paper on why the spells we covered today could be used in a life or death situation on Monday." He walked up to his office at the top of the stairs with papers tucked under his arm. Lucy got her stuff together slowly; she did not want any questions about why she went to see Sullivan after class. The last thing she wanted was awkward questions.

"Hey, Lucy, I'll see you up at the common room later." Ollie said as the last of the class emptied out the door to go to either their study hall or their next class. The door closed behind him with a soft creaking sound. She stood alone for a few moments before making her way up the stairs to Sullivan's office butterflies doing battle in her stomach. It seemed so exciting at first, but now Lucy was wondering if it had all been a dream of sorts.

The stairs creaked and moaned under her feet, causing Lucy to shiver. She wondered if he was going to ask questions about her family? Some of the other kids had asked her such questions before. Lucy told them to go ask someone else, preferably the person they wanted to know more about. Lucy had no ambition to be a secretary. The room echoed with the sound of Lucy's knocking on the office door. The response was a faint _"Come in!"_ from the other side of the door. Lucy stepped inside.

Professor Sullivan was kneeling next to a small trapdoor and a bright blue rug; he threw the rug over the trapdoor before Lucy could get to good of a look at it. She did not comment on it, though it did seem a little strange. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about sir?" Lucy set the strangeness aside for now; she was used to secretive people.

"Ah, yes that," Sullivan stood and attempted to make it appear that he was straightening the rug with his foot. He motioned towards the small table where he had already placed a couple of empty saucers and a small teapot. Lucy looked away for a moment as she sat down taking in the rest of the room. It was a combination of messiness and cleanliness that reminded her of her own home. There were books that were on the floor instead of the bookshelf along with some stray papers scattered along the floor, the beginnings of unfinished essays. There was a curtain near the back; Lucy presumed that was where he slept. Sullivan took the seat across from her, "I'm sorry about the mess. I get caught up in grading papers and my own research that my housekeeping gets put to the side." He smiled and poured the tea. "It's jasmine, give it a try, it's quite good."

Lucy sipped it attentively, he was right, it was very good.

"Now, I asked you here for a couple of reasons." Here it was, the moment of truth. "The first being that I am very impressed with the topics you picked out for some of your papers," He picked a paper up from off the floor next to his chair. He reminded her of mum in that regard, knew where everything was in the chaotic mess. " _Oldest Defense, the Evolution of Defensive Spellwork._ _The Darkest Art, a Case-by-Case Evaluation of Lives Saved by the Most Basic Defensive Spells._ I like your titles by the way, they get right to the point and the format is very solid for a First year. Who taught this to you?"

"Both my parents write a lot of reports," Lucy replied. "I'll read through them if I get the chance." She read Gramps and mum's most of the time; she found them the more interesting read though they were harder to get a hold of. Her dad wrote a lot of reports and was working through imported goods currently. "I guess I just picked it up, though Gramps gave me a book on essay formats for my birthday."

Lucy had studied that book to the point of obsession. It was in her trunk and she was getting into the more difficult material, it was challenging but enjoyable.

She thought for a moment about the fight she had witnessed earlier. "Hey, Professor, what is the Reformation?"

Sullivan choked on his tea. "You heard that? Nothing, nothing at all. Why do you ask, Miss Lucy?"

"I'm curious, that's all."

"Well, I can't frown upon curiosity, it brings one answers." He took a deep breath, "Now the second thing I wanted to talk to you about was Mr. Wood." Lucy looked up quickly. "It's nothing you need to worry about, I just think his papers need to be looked over before he hands them in, I was hoping you would read them over. I've already talked to him about it and he wanted me to ask you. Would you do that?"

"Sure, it's not a problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we have met the other cousins who are not as tedious and dull as Lucy thinks they are.


	6. All Hallows Eve

_October 31st 2016_

Lucy gripped the sides of the overstuffed pillow she was sitting with on the large window seat. Her heart beating wildly in her chest as the wireless crackled with each word that was said. _"Suddenly, Belle looked to the bright full moon, her eyes wide as she heard a vicious snarling behind her. Jake had become a mess of wild straggly hair, amber orbs gleaming and a thirst for blood in his very soul. He lunged forward with a roar and Belle screamed._

_And now a word from our sponsors."_

There was a collective groan from the assembled Gryffindors. It was a comfortable Halloween night, the common room was full of good cheer and scary stories that made Lucy shiver in delight. Secretly, she loved the unusual and what others had found to be unlovable things; she was drawn to people who others would avoid. Like the man who lived on the streets of Diagon by choice, Gramps' card mate Raguk, cool foggy days, books about things that made other people stick up their noses in disgust. Gramps noticed and commented on the fact her mum was the same way; only she was more focused on people. He would remark a little sadly that Lucy's mum was the only one willing to put up with him and Lucy's dad on a full time basis. Then he would drink to her health. Gramps like to drink a lot.

_"Does someone you love have an addiction that interferes with their ability to function in normal society? Do they tell you that they do not have a problem and can quit anytime they want to? Do they need a professional's help? Send an owl to the Intervention group in Diagon Alley and we will help your loved one get back on the right path._

Lucy looked out the window and picked up the telescope she had been using for stargazing. It was really out of focus; she focused it at the stars in her sight and turned the little knobs to adjust her telescope and put it to her eye. Her first look was at the Forbidden Forrest. Lucy looked at it more closely. What was there? What had she and Ollie heard on that day in the forest? There was something moving down there, shrouded in a large, shapeless cloak. Lucy adjusted the lens some more and opened the window for a better look.

_Fill your family with shock and awe with practical jokes from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, guaranteed to make you laugh and aid you in all your pranking endeavors."_

It was dark outside, the full moon hidden behind dark clouds. Lucy kept her telescope trained on the figure that was now pacing anxiously in front of the forest. For a moment, Lucy felt bad for her spying. For her own curiosity. The feeling did not last and she resumed her watch and wonderings.

_"Is your child having behavioral problems? Do they lash out in an attempt to hurt you? Are you and your child always arguing? If so then contact Dr. A. B. Cook at Saint Mungo's for an evaluation appointment."_

There was another figure that appeared; this one seemed to have stepped out from the trees. Lucy kept her eye trained on them both. The second figure had drawn its wand and was twirling it between its fingers as the first figure stepped back quickly. Was the first one afraid? The moon appeared from behind the clouds casting a light over the grounds. The second figure looked up towards the tower and what Lucy saw made her eyes widen and her breathing go shallow. It had a mask. A mask of gold.

_"Do you have any gold jewelry you just don't wear anymore? Well, bring it to the Meckler Gold Smithy and we will turn your gold into cash today!_

_"We will now return to our program, Is Jake now truly a savage beast? Will Edmund return in a nick of time to save Belle from being savagely mauled by her best friend? Will they ever find the cure for Allie's terminal illness? If you wish to know the answers to these questions the stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Wolfsbane!"_

The program ended thirty minutes later leaving some of the younger children shaking in fear. Lucy was not scared; it took more than the horror subplot of a teenage romance to scare her.

Victoire had a lot to say after the program concluded. "That was stupid. Belle was a witch, but why wasn't she using her magic to defend herself?" The beautiful girl rolled her eyes, "How degrading. What witch would not defend herself in a fight? She just stood around and screamed and waited for someone to come and save her from danger. My aunts would love that." She rolled her eyes again.

Lucy was in agreement, she refused to stand by and do nothing while people threatened her or those she loved. Lucy wanted to be active in her own fate.

Dominique nodded, in agreement with her sister for once. "Yeah, Aunt Ginny would probably use her batbogey hex."

Victoire seemed to be picking up on the game, "Aunt Angelina would send in her flying silverware."

"Mum would throw fireballs!"

"Aunt Audrey would freeze them."

"Ugh, that is not how I want to die. Aunt Hermione, I have no idea what technique she would use but it would not be seen coming."

"She'll probably throw the book at them."

Lucy giggled as she clutched the telescope in her lap. The thought of her bookish aunt throwing books at people just seemed so right and at the same time very out of character. The conversation ended with a loud snore from the chair that Ollie had sprawled himself out in, limbs dangling over the arms of the chair. Lucy smiled as she silently slipped past the few remaining in the common room and went upstairs to her dorm. Ollie had eaten his way through half of a pumpkin pie, a rather large sweet potato, four pieces of ham, and Circe knew what else. Grandmum would love to have him at her table. She had a feeding people thing. Lucy knew this first hand, her mum would ask about taking home some of Grandmum's leftovers after a family dinner. Those were the days Lucy knew for sure what she was eating. There were a lot of evenings back home when everyone just had a sandwich if dinner turned into something that was unable to be saved.

* * *

It was dark and cold, screams echoed through the enclosed space and through her ears. Fear pounded through every part of her body, her heart raced. Lucy took another turn through the labyrinth. Leapt over a fallen rubbish bin and broke into a more feverish pace. Some thing was after her, something that made her blood run cold in pure terror. The girl did not know who or what was behind her.

All that she could see was the brick stonewalls that guided her path. It was familiar, achingly so. Lucy turned around another corner and came face to face with a large brick wall. Damn. There was nowhere to go but back the way she came. Her heart began to race, threatening to beat out of her chest. Lucy noticed a rubbish bin in the corner; she climbed on top of it and tried to heave herself over the wall. The wall seemed to be getting taller, she was losing her grip. The bin tilted beneath her and Lucy felt herself falling…

Falling…

Falling…

Lucy shot up from her bed with a gasp, her face wet with tears as she struggled for breath. She trembled, her terror raw.

"Hm… Lucy what's the matter?" It was Adelaide; Lucy could see the outline of her face and imagine her brown eyes full of concern. Lucy hardly heard the bed creak as Adelaide rose to her feet and walked over from her bed and sit on the edge of Lucy's. "Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"

Lucy just shook and tried to calm her breathing, and stop her hands from shaking so hard.

"'hat's goin' on?" Amita's raspy voice spoke from the small mountain of multi-colored blankets on a nearby bed. The mountain moved and Amita poked her head into the moonlight, looking tired and slightly annoyed. "Addie?"

"Lucy had a nightmare, Amita. Hey, go get Victoire would you?"

Amita scowled, "The Veela? The overhyped beauty queen?" Amita put on her slippers and left the room.

"Your okay, it was just a dream." Adelaide put an arm over Lucy's shoulders. "Just a dream."

But Lucy still felt scared, the reason was something buried so deeply inside of her that she could not reach it. For now her stomach was flipping uncomfortably and now she felt physically ill. She felt her jaw tighten and she leaned over the side of the bed and threw up. Adelaide screeched and took off for the other side of the room. Lucy shook and felt large plump tears run down her face. Lucy felt bad, like all of those other times she had been ill.

Lucy did not really notice Victoire entering the room pinning her Prefect badge to her chest as she walked over. Lucy felt a small bucket being pressed into her hands, and heard Victoire barking orders to Dom and another Prefect to go and get Madam Pomfrey. Victoire rubbed Lucy's back like her parents would have had she been home.

Merlin's pants she wanted to go home, she was just so embarrassed and scared. More embarrassed than anything else.

That had been so long ago…!

It was a few minutes before Madam Pomfrey arrived and cleaned up the mess with a wave of her wand and gave Lucy something to settle her stomach. Lucy did not notice that Victoire had left; Lucy had been looking into the bucket since it had been pressed into her hands. Madam Pomfrey's hands were cool against Lucy's hot face. It made her feel more homesick somehow. It was always the little things that got her. "Here, take a drink of this. This will help."

Lucy did as she was told and the terrible taste left her mouth. Her eyes felt heavy and she put her head on her pillow and went to sleep.

* * *

_Dear Gramps,_

_How are you? I'm doing fine, school is going great. Professor Sullivan said I'm easily the brightest in the year. No, James and Fred are not giving me as many problems as I expected. They're mostly ignoring me for now but I'll keep you posted. They are scared of you after all. I remember when you threatened James with locking him in Back Room after he set off a firework in the shop. I had never seen him look so scared before! And when you threatened to tell Aunt Angelina about Fred's grand exploding pellet plot, Fred looked ready to cry._

_And Gramps, Ollie may share a dorm with the Terrible Twosome, but he's different from the rest of the boys in the House dormitory. I can understand why you're worried; I was a bit worried at first to. But Ollie is very trustworthy. I don't think he gets along all that well with the boys in our year. He spends most of his time with me._

_Mum and dad never answered the question that I asked in my last letter home. I had the question underlined so they would be sure not to miss it. I guess I'll have to ask you now._

_Gramps, what is the Reformation? And if you don't answer either I'll ask your archenemy, Cavan Toft. Or I'll ask Enforcer Celeste Scully to come by for tea in the Back Room._

_Love,_

_Lucy._


End file.
